Balsa strop loaded with .5 CBN Spray

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Strauss95

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Dec 17, 2012
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So I am now using a couple balsa strops, and am curious about something. My strop that I have loaded with Ken's .5 micron CBN spray isn't turning black. I've stropped many knives on it now, and it barely has darkened up. Only enough to even have to mention it. So little that I find myself second guessing as to whether it's even getting darker or not. My 1 micron strop on the other hand turns black immediately, from the very first knife that I strop. That one is loaded with 1 micron diamond paste. Now I know the 1 micron is going to remove more metal than .5, but I was expecting to see some metal deposits on the .5. Does this sound normal to you all? I'm concerned that I may have a bad batch of CBN spray. Just looking to hear if my results are normal, or if my .5 strop should be starting to darken up by now. I've stropped around 15 knives on them so far.
 
At half a micron I don't see much either. I don't expect to at that grit level. I'm not a balsa guy. On nanocloth the spray darkens the media but I've never seen much in the way of metal.
 
Just what I wanted to hear. The spray also darkened the balsa, making it even harder to determine if there were metal deposits being left behind.
 
Strauss95 said:
So I am now using a couple balsa strops, and am curious about something. My strop that I have loaded with Ken's .5 micron CBN spray isn't turning black. I've stropped many knives on it now, and it barely has darkened up. Only enough to even have to mention it. So little that I find myself second guessing as to whether it's even getting darker or not. My 1 micron strop on the other hand turns black immediately, from the very first knife that I strop. That one is loaded with 1 micron diamond paste. Now I know the 1 micron is going to remove more metal than .5, but I was expecting to see some metal deposits on the .5. Does this sound normal to you all? I'm concerned that I may have a bad batch of CBN spray. Just looking to hear if my results are normal, or if my .5 strop should be starting to darken up by now. I've stropped around 15 knives on them so far.
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You might test the compound on other surfaces to see how/if the visible swarf increases. For example, try it on some plain white paper (like printer paper) over a HARD backing like glass or smooth stone. OR, try it on some harder wood, like oak or maple, on which the compound shouldn't embed as easily or deeply as on balsa. Some compounds lose a lot of aggressiveness depending on the substrate used; I suspect it's due to the tendency for the substrate to cushion the compound more, perhaps embedding the compound too deeply to be very aggressive at all. I've noticed big differences in visible swarf with 1 micron diamond paste (DMT), when compared between it's use on leather (very little or light evidence of swarf-blackening) vs using it on balsa or other woods like basswood, for example, which blackens very quickly with use.

You can also test for the presence or effectiveness of compound by rubbing other easier-to-polish metals on the strop, like brass or the edge of a copper penny. If the compound is still there, it'll be very quick to polish these softer metals, and possibly leave some more visible trace of metal removed on the strop.


David
 
My wicked edge strops do the same thing. My coarser strop compound loads up quickly while the finer one has little to no metal(dark color) build up. 1 and .5 are the microns. Maybe it's how you use the strops? I'm not questioning your knowledge or stropping. When I first got my weps and loaded the strops for use the 1 micron strops removed metal while the .5 worked better when the compound was dry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ just my experience so far. Good luck!
 
Well, let's start with the key question - how did the 0.5 micron CBN work? If you are using the spray formulation, it will eventually settle so you can gently mix it back up. It settles quite slowly. Coarser grits like 2 micron settle relatively quickly. The emulsion formulations settle slowly to not at all depending on particle size going up to 80 microns.

You might try mixing it back up and respraying the surface. Even if you don't do this the odds of it not performing appropriately are extremely low. If you still are having any problems please provide me with a photograph of the label so I can trace out the batch number of your product. IF there is a problem, yours will be the first in over 6 years.

If necessary, I can have your bottle analyzed and provide a replacement. I stand behind my products 100%. Contact me through here OR ksskss@earthlink.net .

---
Ken
 
Ken, no worries. Your CBN spray seems to be working just fine. I was just suprised at how much more metal was being left behind on my strop loaded with 1 micron diamond paste. I am very new to stropping with CBN and or diamond compounds so I'm learning as I go. I had based my expectations on my previous results with white and green compound on leather. The CBN spray is much different. I appreciate you offering help and standing behind your product. It's support like this that lead to buy your product in the first place :) Now I just need to get my hands on some different micron sizes. I'm looking to get the best performing edges possible. I'm mainly stropping Aogami Super Blue #2 and White #1 carbon steels (my favorite kitchen knives), although I do strop my Murray Carter neck knife often as well. I just love how keen of an edge the carbon steels take.
 
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